


Missing [Peppermint Kisses]

by KaniTheCrab



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Keith and Lance are only mentioned, M/M, Nyma isnt there long, another one for a contest boys, god this crack ship is good, how do you do fancy text on here help, kolo pls, okay keith is there but flashbacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-02 22:49:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16314116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaniTheCrab/pseuds/KaniTheCrab
Summary: October twenty third. Rolo can’t ignore it this year. The cold air, their song, their favorite drink... Their son. He’s too busy remembering to forget tonight.





	Missing [Peppermint Kisses]

**Author's Note:**

> CoffeeShopContest WITH THREE MINUTES TO SPARE!! Look at us go. My item was Peppermint Mocha and Character was Rolo and this was NOT what I had originally planned at all. The ship I had gotten was Shallura and I’d originally planned on Rolo being a tired barista who was sick of seeing those two be oblivious to one another. Theennn this happened four hours before the deadline. I had a ton of fun writing this regardless of how spontaneous it was. Thank you so much to Finn for extending the deadline when I was unable to meet the one on the 10th, as well as for hosting the contest!
> 
> http://aminoapps.com/p/n6pnam
> 
> Cross formatting is hell and posting from mobile on this site is super user unfriendly. Help
> 
> Song for this one: the broken hearts club - Gnash
> 
> There isn’t a moment of any day when I do not feel you loving and glowing. When I do not grieve for you, for me, for us both. When my longing to be with you is not as deep as the sea.”  
> -Dylan Thomas to Caitlin Thomas, March 1950

The little coffee shop was quiet. It was usual, especially on a Tuesday evening in October. The creation of the two siblings was always like this during the week. Quiet and cool. Most would find it uncomfortable for a coffee shop with a homey atmosphere to be chilly, but Rolo didn’t mind it. Honestly, he’d likely open a window and enjoy the fall air with a coffee. Maybe a peppermint mocha- its been a while since he’d made one for himself.

“Hey, I’m gonna go clean up a little more in the back then head out, okay?” Nyma’s voice broke the silence, her face softening into a small smile.

Rolo looked up with a small hum, continuing to wipe the table down. “Huh? Alright. Lance picking you up tonight?”

“Should be. I’ll probably be staying with him tonight, who knows.” She gave a shrug, hesitating at the saloon style doors that led to the kitchen. “You gonna be okay here by yourself tonight...? I can stay if you want-“

“No, no. You go ahead. Lance is gonna need you tonight anyways.”

“Are you sure, Rolo..? Absolutely sure?”

He gave a small nod in response, managing a small smile. “Yeah... I’m sure. Thank you though. Go on and have a good time.”

Nyma’s gaze stayed soft as she looked at her brother, giving a small nod. “Alright. Beezer is asleep in the back- Tried to keep him awake but I guess he got his daddy’s stubbornness huh...?”

A weak laugh left Rolo. Tired but filled with fondness. “He sure did. That’s one thing that’ll probably always stick with the kid... Even if he doesn’t remember him.”

“Mhm... If you need me, call me okay?” Nyma paused to wait for her brother to nod before pushing past those saloon doors and into the back. She’d only been back there a few minutes before calling out a farewell and leaving. Lance must have pulled up outside.

That silence from before had returned. It wasn’t comfortable for long though. With Nyma gone and Beezer asleep, Rolo was alone. Maybe he should have asked her to stay- to have Lance come in and sit until he’d finished cleaning. With no one else there, the silence was deafening.

Without him there, the silence was suffocating.

“Breathe, Rolo...” he grumbled to himself, shaking his head. “Turn some music on, dumbass. Open a window.” That was bound to help. Clear his head. Right.

Wrong. Opening the window just sent a rush of cool air at him. Cold and familiar. Something he once loved, but now only reminded him that no one would be facing it with him. The radio only offered songs that once brought joy to him, but now only gave pains in his chest and ghostly memories in his head.

He’d given up when he found a softer station, shaking his head. With all of this nostalgia, he may as well have the drink.

♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

”Hey babe? Will you make our favorite? Please?”

”What? Now? Keith, it’s the middle of summer. And we’re working. You really want a peppermint mocha now?” Rolo couldn’t hold back a chuckle. Of course he’d make the drink. Anything for him.

”Absolutely. Our favorite is the only thing appropriate to celebrate with.” Keith had plopped himself into one of the tall chairs, holding up some of their mail over his face. As much as he tried to hide it, Rolo could see the grin on his face. It was genuine- the way his violet eyes glimmered gave him away.

”We’re celebrating? What exactly are we celebrating, hm?” Rolo waited to ask this until he’d come over with their drinks. He was ever thankful for those slow weekdays that allowed moments together like these. If he’d been asked to pick a moment to stay in forever, one of these would be it.

”Guess.”

”Won the lottery?”

Keith rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Strike one.”

”Your mother is coming into town and won’t be staying with us?”

This drew a snort from the raven headed man, as well as another eye roll. “I didn’t marry a scholar, did I. Mom would text or call, not write a letter you ninny. And of course she’d stay with us.”

Rolo couldn’t help but laugh, sipping at his drink. “Nope, you didn’t. Now c’mon, tell me what we’re celebrating!”

”Fine, Fine.” Keith set the papers down, pushing them to his husband with a huge grin. A rare sight- it melted Rolo each time he was blessed enough to see it.

”What are these...? It just looks like the papers were sent back. Again. What’s so good about this?”

”Well if you’d read it, you’d know-“ Keith was cut off by Nyma yelling in from the kitchen, claiming Rolo couldn’t even read and that was unfair to make fun of him. Usually, this would have led to banter between the twins. That could have gone on for ages. No one had time for that. “Rolo look right here..! See! They were accepted!” He cut in to whatever they’d been yelling, their noise immediately ceasing.

Everything was silent for what seemed like ages before Rolo scooped Keith up from the chair, spinning him in a circle. Nyma had come running from the kitchen, not even complaining when she’d nearly been bumped in to.

”They went through!? They really did this time!?”

”They did!” This earned a loud ‘Whoop’ from Rolo, as well as from Nyma.

”I’m gonna be the most kickass aunt ever! Hell yeah!!! Congratulations you guys, you’re finally going to be dads!”

”We... We’re gonna finally be dads...!!” Rolo was still stunned. After so long and so many things that hadn’t worked out, it was finally happening.

”We’re going to finally be dads, you big goof.” Keith’s grin still held as he hugged Rolo tightly, neither complaining when Nyma made it a group hug.

Everything was perfect. The shop was doing well, they were no longer living with parents- even though they still had Nyma as their roommate, they were finally on their own. And now they were going to be parents.

Life couldn’t get any better.

♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

“Ow Fu- Frick. Frick I said frick. Wasn’t going to say the other word. Nope.” Rolo grumbled to himself as he finished the drink. Drinks. He must have made two. He hadn’t even been paying attention. Old habits die hard, don’t they?

He shook his head and began cleaning up, treating the slight burn on his hand. God that hurt. Hopefully he didn’t wake Beezer- though he probably did. A dropped metal cup didn’t exactly make a soft patting noise when it fell on tile, now did it?

“You’d be laughing at me right now. Call me a clutz then go to check on the little tyke...” He sighed, setting the dirty dishes in the sink. Hesitantly now, he reached out and grabbed a picture frame, a soft smile coming to his face as the song changed on the radio.

“Remember learning this one together...? Ironic, wasn’t it...? A sad song about being broken hearted brought us together...” He drew his thumb over the face of his lover as he spoke, his breath shaky. “You always looked so happy when sections were played right...”

Ignoring the few tears that began to stain his face he laughed- that laugh slowly fading into a sob as he held the picture close. “Its so hard without you baby... I miss you so damn much...”

♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

”Rolo, Cmon! We only have a few transitions left to learn!”

Keith got a whine for his troubles, as well as a pout. “My hands hurt though! C’mon baby, can’t we take a break?”

”Its not my fault you forgot your picks. And no, you can’t borrow one. You steal guitar picks and strings- can’t you be like a normal boyfriend and steal my jackets?”

”I can’t be! I’ll just be stealing my own jackets back!” Rolo retorted, moving to sit closer to him. “C’mon baby please let me take a break?”

”But We’re so close-“ Keith stopped when he felt Rolo put his arms around his waist, a small huff leaving him. “Fine... but only a short break. We can play the whole thing soon!”

A small kiss pressed to the back of his neck was responded to with a squeak, Keith’s body slowly relaxing against Rolo’s. “If I play 90210 will you sing?”

”Sure thing. That’s your favorite, isn’t it?”

”Favorite to hear you sing anyways.” Keith spoke as he tuned his guitar for the song of choice, a light smirk on his face. He’d won this time. He may not have gotten to keep playing with Rolo, but he’d get to hear him sing.

”Well if I’m singing your favorite, you’ve gotta give me something too.”

”You’re already getting a break what more do you want?”

”To turn the radio on later and dance. Please baby? We’ll do a run through before if you want.”

This peaked his interest. “A run? Like... full run?”

”Yep. A full run in exchange for some good old fashioned dancing to the radio.”

Keith considered this for a moment, sighing with a smile and shaking his head. “Fine, you’ve got a deal. Sing for me still?”

”Of course. Give me a count when you’re ready to start.”

”Alright... One, two, three,”

♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

Four sounds brought him back to his senses. The door in the back shutting, the saloon doors squeaking, feet pattering, and a small voice.

“Papa...? Who you talking to, Papa?”

“Beezer?” Rolo turned around, setting the picture down before carefully scooping his son up. ”I’m... Talking to Daddy, if that makes any sense. Just saying what I’m thinking and hoping he hears me up in heaven.”

Beezer nodded, hugging a plush hippo in one arm as his other hand patted his father’s cheek. “Wet... you cry? Why that Papa?”

“I miss Daddy a lot, Beezer... but I’ll be okay. You know... today would have been his birthday...”

“Birthday!?” The toddler squirmed slightly, saying his ‘th’ more like an ‘f’. “Daddy’s Birthday?”

A sad smile crept onto his face as he nodded, carefully setting him back down to wash the dishes he’d dirtied. “Daddy’s Birthday, yeah...”

“We Cele... ceble... celebrate? Gotta celebrate Daddy birthday...!” He tugged on Rolo’s shirt. “Pleeeaaasseeeee!” Beezer begged him, trying to say an ‘l’ instead of a ‘w’.

“I dunno buddy...”

“Please? Please please please...!!”

“Beezer..”

“Please Papa?!”

Both were silent for a few moments, the only sound being running water and the radio playing softly. He couldn’t resist his son, he was a total push over. And maybe... maybe his idea would be a good idea. Especially with the recent switch to biodegradable cups. One of Nyma’s ideas would really pay off tonight. “Alright bubba... go grab me three cups, okay?”

“Okay...!!” Beezer almost skipped off to do as he was told. Even if he wouldn’t remember Keith, so much of him showed in the little boy. His stubbornness.. his smiles... his genuine excitement.

“Thank you buddy.”

“Welcome Papa!!”

♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

It was late- far past both of their bed times. But for tonight, that was fine. Tonight was a night they could break a few rules. Holding three cups in one arm, the free hand held onto Beezer’s small hand as they walked. Everything was quiet. Not suffocating, just dreary. A silence that soaked into your bones and your soul.

Just as Beezer was about to complain about the long walk, Rolo directed him to sit between two headstones. The little one plopped down as he was told, eagerly accepting his cup as the elder knelt down.

“Peppermint!” The soft cheer echoed against the stones around them as Rolo set one of the cups down in the small flowerbed surrounding an even smaller stone.

“Mhm.. peppermint.” Crossing his legs, Rolo settled down, smiling when Beezer climbed into his lap.

“Papa... Will you tell me bout Daddy...?”

A response didn’t come right away. Could he manage it..? Some... yeah, he could manage some.

”Your daddy was a wonderful man, Beezer... My best friend. He loved to play guitar and sing if someone could get him to do it... He didn’t have a lot of hobbies but the ones he did have he was very passionate about... he painted all those pretty pictures hanging around the house...”

“Oh wow...!”

“Mhm... He had a lot of trouble getting close to people... but when he did, he loved them so much... he loved you lots and lots too, you little monster.” Rolo poked Beezer’s belly, smiling at the giggles he heard. “You probably won’t remember Daddy very much... but you’re so much like him...”

“I-I remember Daddy...! He... he sing when can’t sleep...!”

Tears came fully, unable to be blinked back now. Thank god he remembered happy moments. That’s what Keith wanted to leave behind- something good. He’d gone through so much and he wanted to take all of that badness... make it into goodness.

“Why Daddy not be here anymore Papa...? I... I miss Daddy songs..”

Of course this question would come. It was unavoidable. “I’ll tell you more when you’re older but... some bad, bad guys tried to hurt Uncle Lance while Daddy was out with him... Daddy tried to protect Uncle Lance and he got very very hurt.... they both did... Uncle Lance got better but Daddy... Daddy was hurt too badly...”

Beezer listened quietly, pressing against his father’s torso. “Why they do that...? Why Daddy not get better like Uncle Lance...?”

“I don’t know why the bad people tried to hurt them... but Daddy protected Uncle Lance and got hurt too badly... so he had to go up to heaven while his body’s gotta sleep down here... do you understand that bubba..?”

“Think so.... wish could see Daddy though...”

Rolo hummed softly and nodded, gently rocking him. “I do too baby... but we will one day, when we’ve gotta go up to heaven and let our bodies sleep for a long long time...”

“We will...?”

“Mhm... Daddy promised to be there for me no matter what... and I’ll make sure he waits for you. Couldn’t go anywhere without out little stinker.” He poked his son’s belly again. “But that won’t be for a long time.“

“Daddy still wait?”

“He’s not entirely impatient... he’ll wait for us bubba. I promise...“

“Okay Papa...” The young boy tried to hide a yawn, rubbing his eyes. “More bout Daddy... Tell more Papa...”

He chuckled and shook his head no, slowly standing with his som in his arms. “Tomorrow... Lets get home and go sleep. We can cuddle up in my room tonight.”

“But Papaaa...”

“No Buts, silly. Daddy’s stories can wait just like Daddy will wait for us..”

♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

”Rolo..?” Came a soft whisper.

”What is it, my darling husband?” He whispered back, grinning to himself. Husband. Keith was his husband now.

”No matter what, I’ll be there for you. I love you...”

”The same from me to you, Keith... I won’t leave you. Ever. I promise. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

”I’m a lucky man...”

”We both are...”

Even in the dark, Rolo could visualize the soft smile on his lovers face. He could feel it in the kiss they shared. He tasted of peppermint- of course that had been part of the refreshments.

”Peppermint Kisses, hint of mocha. My favorite.”

”Way better than your pumpkin spice taste.”

”Hey thats what you get for a fall, almost winter wedding. Besides, you know you love it.”

“I prefer the peppermint ones.” Keith chuckled, curling into Rolo’s side. “Now shhh... Goodnight, Mister Rolo Kogane... I love you.”

”And a Goodnight to you, Mister Keith Kogane. I love you too.”

♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡


End file.
